About us

      Visitors to Drexel Hill United Methodist Church won't have to wait long to be welcomed by our congregation.  A smile, a friendly handshake and warm words of greeting await you upon arrival at our Sunday morning 10 a.m. services.

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     We offer "user friendly" traditional Methodist services with a few informal twists and turns along the way to help deliver the message of God's love to everyone.

• Kid- and family-friendly, with a children's moment included in every service.

• A vibrant Sunday School program for children of all ages.

• Our growing choir under the steady and creative direction of music director Dan Matarazzo offers a wide range of music, from traditional sacred and classical, to contemporary and world music. 

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     We are a loving community of worshipers who are always looking for opportunities to help others in need, here in our home town and around the world.  The life blood of our church community extends beyond one worship service a week.  

• Perhaps you've attended or heard about our free community lunches on Saturdays.  (You can read more about this elsewhere on our website and on the Drexel Hill United Methodist Church Facebook page). 

• The church is a long-time home and sponsor of the Drexel Hill United Methodist Nursery School,  a non-profit school serving pre-school children in Delaware County. Its cheerful, spacious classrooms provide a safe environment for children to learn and play.

• When disaster hits in the US, our volunteer mission teams are ready to travel wherever help is needed. These teams have helped with hurricane cleanup and building restoration in hard hit areas like New Orleans, Houston and Florida.

• Closer to home, we host and support Boy Scout Troop 32 and Cub Scout Pack 92.  The Boy Scouts host a tailgate sale while the Cub Scouts have their Pinewood Derby here in January and a Blue and Gold banquet in March. The church also hosts local Girl Scouts and Brownies. 

• If you're a railroad enthusiast, you can catch up with other enthusiasts during regular meetings held at the church of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society.

• Our church initiates several projects throughout the year to help local individuals and families in need.  You'll see us collecting coats and blankets in the late fall, preparing food baskets at Thanksgiving, gift boxes at Christmas time, a Souper Bowl of Caring in January and singing our hearts out at our annual benefit concert in late spring.   

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     Our church is busy working with and in the community, fulfilling the United Methodist mission to proclaim the good news of Gods’ grace and exemplify Jesus' command to love God and neighbor.

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A little history

     Drexel Hill United Methodist Church traces its origins to April 1, 1923, when two small congregations (Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia and Mount Pleasant Methodist Episcopal Church in Drexel Hill) merged, creating a new church in Drexel Hill.  

     Declining membership forced the Broad Street church to close.  At the time, Drexel Hill was considered a vacation spot for some of the 37 members of Broad Street Methodist, who attended the 35-member Mount Pleasant Church in Drexel Hill during the summer months.  These two congregations quickly developed a sense of fellowship and cooperation. They decided to use the money from the sale of the Broad Street church to purchase land in Drexel Hill.

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Seven lots at Burmont Road and Bliss Avenue (now School Lane) were purchased on April 23, 1923 for the new church, to be called Broad Street Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church.  On Sunday, Oct. 28, 1923, congregants marched from the Mount Pleasant Church at Garrett Road near Burnley Lane to the new church location where the cornerstone for the new building, which became known as McBurney Chapel, was laid.

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The congregation rapidly grew into the largest membership of any church in Drexel Hill and by 1935 the church building was expanded to include James Hall (named after Pastor Arthur C. James) and an education building.  James Hall was used as a sanctuary from 1933 to 1951 until the growing congregation required an even larger sanctuary. 

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More land was purchased, and a new sanctuary facing Burmont Road was built, dedicated on Sept. 23, 1951. That sanctuary, still in use today, includes a 28-rank, three-manual Moeller pipe organ and a Sistine Madonna painting obtained through Philadelphia department store magnate John Wanamaker, by church member Emil Bohn, a Wanamaker buyer of leather goods.

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In 1968, following the worldwide union of the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist churches, the church became known as Drexel Hill United Methodist Church as part of the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference UMC. Over the last 93 years, DHUMC has not only served its own membership and encouraged the development of Christianity throughout the world through its support of missionaries, but has also had a strong community outreach. Currently, groups meeting in our building include Boy and Girl Scout Troops, sports leagues, and the PA Railroad Technical and Historical Society.

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